The AFL regards unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying and abuse in any form as intolerable and believes that all people have the right to work, play and socialise in an environment which is safe, inclusive and respectful.

This policy has been designed to re-enforce the values the AFL places upon creating the best environment for all people connected with Australian Football. It clearly defines expected standards of behaviour for all people associated with our game and sets out the AFL’s approach to addressing inappropriate behaviour.www.afl.com.au/policies

Risk Protection

The Australian Football National Risk Protection Programme is a joint initiative of the AFL and its state bodies and has seen a number of benefits provided to football clubs throughout Australia. It is designed to save clubs time, effort and money and provide enhanced cover and services for the football community.

The AFL, in conjunction with the Australian Sports Commission and extensive research with the community club network, has developed the AFL Club Management Program aimed at supporting and providing education for club administrators. Six manuals covering all areas of administration are available to download free of charge.The areas covered are:• Community Partnerships • Financial Management • Junior Development • Planning • Risk Management • Volunteer Management

If you would like to receive a copy of the AFL Club Management program please contact your Community Football team.

The AFL Club Management program is designed to be used in conjunction with the Quality Club Program, and provides the information and support needed for clubs to advance within the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of the Quality Club Program

Footyweb

Footyweb is an administration and competition management software package for sporting clubs and organisations. It covers a vast range of sport administration functions and aims to drastically reduce the time administrators and volunteers spend managing their sport.

Some of Footyweb’s main features include:• Easy to create fixtures and ladders• Quick entry for results• Membership management• Clearance administration• Tribunal administration• Detailed reports• Upload fixtures, results and ladders to the web• Synchronise member data to an online membership database

The Community Football team are able to provide your club or league with footyweb training. Please contact the team to discuss this opportunity. Alternatively you can also contact Sportingpulse at www.support.sportingpulse.com for any enquiries or issues.

Quality League Management Framework

The Quality League Management Framework (QLMF) has been adopted for all football leagues in NSW and the ACT in order to act as a guide to manage, operate and govern a sporting association in our current environment.

Football Leagues throughout Australia vary vastly in terms of how they operate; they pick up from what their predecessors have started, follow the guidance of a new committee member or look at how other codes operate themselves. The QLMF is all about a best practice approach on how to operate an Australian Football league.

As part of the League Affiliates agreement, each league is asked to ‘Conduct or continue to conduct and administer Australian Football competitions within their region in order to provide Australian footballers with an opportunity to play in a high standard competition’. The QLMF provides leagues a best practice approach to adhere to the above statement.

The five categories comprising the QLMF outlined in the following pages are:

Here is a great opportunity for Clubs to take advantage of the AFL’s close relationship with the NAB. AFL NSW/ACT has ventured into a partnership with the NAB to assist in generating revenue for your club.

Any club can refer customers, friends, family to their local NAB mobile banker for home loans and business loans by simply providing a name and phone number. That’s all your club needs to do - NAB will do the rest (minimum loan $50K).

Any loan that is approved and settled - the club will receive .66% ( inc GST ) of the loan amount - for example a $500K home loan will provide $3300 in revenue direct to the club. Clubs do not need to sign any Agreements or provide any Insurance - this is covered and accounted for under the AFL Master Introducer Agreement. Any referrals MUST advise NAB the specific club name and they will do the rest.

NAB Mobile bankers are available for after hours and weekend appointments and they are happy to meet with your club to discuss the program. NAB are keen to support us and already clubs are benefitting from the revenue they have received so why not get your club involved as soon as possible.

All clubs need to identify a NAB champion – the person who drives the program within the club and is a conduit between the bank and the club. If your club hasn’t already please email Taleah Neowhouse at taleah.neowhouse@aflnswact.com.au to advise of your club’s NAB Champion.

Volunteer of the Year Program

The purpose of the Volunteer of the Year award is to recognise the significant contribution that volunteers make to ensure that AFL is played and conducted in the best possible way through out NSW and the ACT

There will be regional winners as well as a state winner. Each regional winner receives a prize and the prize for the state winner will include 2 tickets to the Toyota AFL Grand Final. More information about this program including the nomination process will be provided as soon as possible.

Kids First

Today’s parents have an important role in the delivery and support of sporting activities for their own and other children. With it comes a clear responsibility to act in a constructive and encouraging manner at all times.

Barracking and wanting your child to perform well is human nature, but it is critical that this should be done in a responsible manner avoiding the ugly parent syndrome at all times.

The AFL invests over $23 million annually in strategies that support the participation of 450,000 players throughout Australia. AFL Kids First is a program that has been designed for leagues and associations to guide parents so that both they and their children obtain the maximum benefit and enjoyment from their participation in junior programs and matches.

AFL Kids First includes recommendations for leagues, associations and their clubs to manage situations where parents become over-enthusiastic and risk having a negative impact on their children’s activities.

The basic principles of AFL Kids First are to remind parents that:• Sport for children is a vital part of their growing up. • Children like to win, but more importantly, they want to have fun. • Parents need to set the right example at the sports ground, not just at home. • Parents should be proud of their child’s efforts irrespective of the result. • Sport is important to children’s self esteem.The AFL has produced an operational manual for leagues, associations and clubs to drive these principles, and to remind parents of the vital responsibilities and to outline appropriate procedures in the event problems arise.

The manual outlines the program’s objectives, presents the code of conduct appropriate to all parents, describes the education process for junior leagues and associations, and the conduct of an information session, the appointment of a coordinator to manage process, and the role and duties of the coordinator, parents, and administrators.

The continued growth and health of the game depends on junior programs and matches being conducted in a positive, encouraging and fun environment. AFL Kids First provides guidance for achieving this objective.

You can receive a copy of all the Kids First Resources through your Community Football team.